Tacitus
The Tacitus (Latin, silent) is an ancient and extraterrestrial data matrixElectronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Nod Field Recon, "The Tacitus". that played a prominent role during the Tiberium Wars between GDI and Nod. Both factions used the Tacitus' data to improve their technology and understanding of Tiberium and control of the device was highly sought after. It is key to the ascension prophecies, the core mythology around which Kane built the Brotherhood of Nod. It originally consisted of two segments, one being present in the 3700-year-old Temple of the Tacitus in Bolivia. History Tratos the Translator The Forgotten acquired the Tacitus prior to the Second Tiberium War and their leader, Tratos, learned to translate it. The mutants hoped to find some way to reverse their mutations.Stojsavljevic, Rade, and O'Miley Ryan. Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Operations Manual. Las Vegas, Nevada: Westwood Studios, 1999. Tratos and the device ultimately fell into Nod hands. Kane tricked the Forgotten leader into aiding CABALWestwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm. GDI mission 4: "GDI 04: In the Box". translate the device for Nod's designs. Tratos later regretted cooperating with Nod; he realized too late the translated data was being used to create Tiberium weapons, lifeforms, all aimed toward Nod's final goal of creating a Tiberium world.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. GDI mission 10a: "Destroy Prototype Facility". GDI initially refused to believe the existence of the device despite gaining the Forgotten as allies.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. GDI mission 9d: "Destroy Chemical Missile Plant". Any remaining doubts about its existence were dispelled at the end of the war when GDI recovered the device from the Nod Pyramid in Cairo.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. GDI mission 12: "Final Conflict". GDI regarded information regarding the Tacitus as highly classified.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm. GDI mission 1: "GDI 01:Recover the Tacitus".Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. GDI mission 12: "Munich". Alternate History After his public return Kane ordered Commander Anton Slavik to deliver a Nod high-technology ship to Cairo. The ship held the Tacitus and other technologies useful to Nod and was stored in a subterranean hangar. However, General Vega reached the hangar first and took the ship for a personal endeavour in South America. However, Vega was unable to control it and the ship crashed.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. Nod mission 5: "Salvage Operation". Slavik arrived to find the ship abandoned and the Tacitus missing.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. Nod mission 6a: "Sheep's Clothing". Restoring the Tacitus 's lab.]] Although the war was won by GDI, Tiberium contamination was reaching critical levels. The Daedalus Team believed the Tacitus to be the best approach to acquiring the necessary knowledge to fight Tiberium. The device and Kane's accumulated notes and data were scheduled to be shipped immediately to the Daedalus Research Complex where Tratos could continue translation. The Tacitus was loaded onto Kodiak at Cairo but the ship was destroyed by an ion storm in flight. This coincided with the beginning of the Firestorm Crisis. As one of its first duties, General Paul Cortez ordered the emergency Firestorm Taskforce to recover the Tacitus. GDI did not locate Kane's store of translated data. Tratos was assassinated by Nod on CABAL's ordersWestwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm. Nod mission 3: "NOD 03:Tratos' Final Act". before receiving the Tacitus and translation proceeded slowly.Pannullo, Patrick, Joseph Selinske, and David Lamoreaux. Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm: Instruction Manual. Las Vegas, Nevada: Westwood Studios, 1999. Doctor Gabriella Boudreau estimated Tratos' death put the project years behind schedule, when it was estimated the atmosphere would be toxic to humans within a year. The doctor proposed to use CABAL as a substitute translator; the Nod AI helped Tratos translate the Tacitus for Kane. The Firestorm Taskforce captured CABAL core in Poland. This was to the AI's design. It knew translation efforts were crippled because the device was physically incomplete. Nod had failed to retrieve the missing segment and it hoped GDI would be more successful.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm. GDI mission 6: "GDI 06:Escape from CABAL". CABAL convinced GDI to retrieve the missing segment after revealing the nature of the problem. The AI even pinpointed the segment's location in northern Bolivia for the Firestorm Taskforce. The segment was sequestered in a complex of ancient step pyramids occupied by a small religious group. A GDI archaeologist deciphered the pyramid hieroglyphs to determine which one the segment was stored in.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm. GDI mission 5: "GDI 05: Dogma Day Afternoon". CABAL took the completed device and unleashed its cyborgs on GDI. Ironically, the Tacitus was, in turn, stolen from CABAL by the Forgotten. The AI used Nod forces to recover the device for it.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm. Nod mission 4: "NOD 04:Mutant Extermination". The Brotherhood's Inner Circle grew increasingly uneasy with the AI's independence, including its unilateral recovery of the Tacitus and assassination of Tratos. CABAL finally broke with Nod when the Inner Circle threatened to deactivate it.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm. Nod mission 5: "NOD 05:Escape from CABAL". The Tacitus was retrieved by GDI from a CABAL core at the end of the Firestorm Crisis.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm. GDI mission 9: "GDI 09:Core of the Problem". While Doctor Boudreau made a series of breakthroughs on the whole GDI continued to struggle with interfacing with the Tacitus and data recovery remained slow. Signs and Portents After GDI's recovery of the Tacitus, it was stored in the fortified Cheyenne Mountain Complex for analysis.In the interwar period, further GDI Tacitus research uncovered references to the Scrin and their future invasion. Unbeknownst to GDI the Scrin were a key factor in Kane's strategy for the Third Tiberium War.Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Nod mission 17: "Kane's Tower". Even with the Tacitus in GDI's hands, a secretly restored Kane was not totally without the device's services. Tacitus shards aided him during the creation of LEGION, CABAL's successor.Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Nod Background, "Kane - Realization". Third Tiberium War Tacitus translation was the responsibility of GDI InOps when the Scrin invaded Earth. They noted the structure of Scrin data transmissions was patterned on the data structure found in the Tacitus, but were significantly different such that it was unlikely the Scrin were the exact originators of the device.Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. GDI InOps, "Alien Origins, Connections to the Tacitus". Decryption programs similar to those found in the Tacitus were used to interface with and capture Annihilator Tripods.Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. GDI InOps, "Alien Tripod Captured". Nod located the Tacitus in China as GDI prepared to transport it away by sea. On Kane's behest, LEGION intercepted and captured the land convoy carrying the device. The AI was maliciously shut down by Abbess Alexa Kovacs before the Tacitus could be extracted. Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Nod mission 11: "Tacitus Interruptus". The Key to Ascension After LEGION's failed attempt to intercept the Tacitus, it was back under GDI control and was transferred back to the Rocky Mountains Complex. The device's condition was deteriorating and the probability of destroying it increased with every test.Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Nod Field Recon, "Tacitus Destabilised?". Kane was disturbed by the development, and feared GDI may have damaged it beyond repair, but chose to wait until LEGION reactivated in 2052. Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Nod mission 13: "Tacitus Regained". Nod was much reduced as a result of the Third Tiberium War. The forces needed to assault the Tacitus facility was found in the Marked of Kane.Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Nod mission 12: "Will Made Flesh". LEGION recovered the Tacitus and interfaced with it. Salvation Kane showed the Tacitus to GDI in 2062. Presumably interfacing with LEGION stabilised the device, since Kane could publicly display it without fear. The advanced knowledge of the Tacitus was later used to create both the Tiberium Control Network and Optical implants. Continuity Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars claimed GDI confiscated the Tacitus from Nod in 2028. However, GDI did not acquire the Tacitus until the end of the Firestorm Crisis, which took place after the Second Tiberium War in 2030. The year in which GDI captured the Tacitus was later retconned to 2032 in Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Behind the Scenes * Westwood Studios originally developed two origins for the device. * The Tacitus is named after the Roman historian of the same name, who wrote an extensive account of the Roman Emperor Tiberius' reign. References de:Tazitus ru:Тацит Category:Tiberium science and technology Category:Tiberium